Sixty Charlotte Street represents the new home of British Olympic and Paralympic sport. It is significant, and a great step forward, that we are co-locating with our Paralympic colleagues. The relationship between our two organisations has always been strong.

 

We, of course, share similar values, not just from the wider Movements of which we proudly belong, but within the British sporting landscape where we uniquely share the honour of servicing and representing our country’s finest athletes through Team GB and Paralympics GB. We felt it was only appropriate that our two organisations found a home somewhere that symbolised excellence - and while it is incredibly modern, it imaginatively pays tribute to our Olympic and Paralympic heritage.
 
Given the extensive media coverage of the finances of the British Olympic Association (BOA), you may be wondering how the BOA could afford such a wonderful new office. Put simply, we benefited from the sale of our old HQ at the height of the market and then negotiated this new lease at the very bottom of the market in the spring.

 

For the fitting out, in true entrepreneurial spirit, we begged, borrowed and cajoled and above all received an unprecedented amount of support from our Landlords (PPG), Olympic partners (Panasonic and BT) and a whole host of suppliers (architects Gebler Tooth, design and build Modus, brand agency Antidote, Cisco, our agents CBRE and NetPractise (Audiovisual), many of whom have worked at cost to help us create something that we would otherwise not have been able to afford. 

 

The BOA has undergone a significant restructuring and transformation process over the past year. Our chairman’s vision was to ensure that we as an organisation were fit to deliver for our athletes and fulfill our objectives as a Host Nation of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The move to Charlotte Street encompasses that fresh vision and purpose. We want to create a culture that is vibrant, a place where our staff feel motivated and inspired, and an organisation that is dynamic and forward-thinking. In the timeless words of the Olympic Movement: Faster, Higher, Stronger.
 
To coincide with the opening of the new offices, we have also introduced revitalised emblems for both the BOA and Team GB, emblems that reflect the values we’ll bring to every aspect of our work, both now and in the years ahead. We have also sought a fresh way of encapsulating Olympism and the values of the Olympic Movement, creating an expression that is personal to the BOA - "Better Never Stops".  This expression will underpin our working practices, encouraging us to strive for excellence in everything we do.
 
As the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games come closer, there has never been a more important time for our organisations to be unswerving and resilient, and above all - aligned in our purpose. The British Olympic and Paralympic Movements will, I have no doubt, thrive in Charlotte Street and that can only benefit the future of sport throughout the United Kingdom.
 

Andy Hunt is the chief executive of the British Olympic Association